THIS year Graham Wallace is celebrating his 50th year of work on Melrose, Cowra, and now has another string to his bow – the Melrose flock winning the second Mid Lachlan Flock Merino Ewe Competition after awarded runner-up in the inaugural event last year.

Described as breeding very productive commercial sheep with uncomplicated skins, the self-replacing Merino flock is among 5200 ewes joined annually by the Wallace family on Melrose and another leased property totalling 1900 hectares in the Cowra district.

The mixed-farming Merino, prime lamb and cropping family enterprise is jointly run between Graham and Maureen Wallace, their son, Adam and his wife, Sarah and family.

While Adam admits he concentrates on the cropping side of the business while Graham and himself share the sheep side, the flock’s success has been largely due to Graham’s influence up until recent years.

The Rutledge family of Nargong Partnership, Woodstock, Kaitlyn, Alison, Erin and Stephen, with their winning Watervale flock under 500 breeding ewes.

“The Merino flock began on Wonga blood followed later by Rossmore and Pastora, the past four years have had an addition of Lach River blood,” Adam Wallace said.

Competition judges, Ben Simmons, Leadville, who runs Talbragar Border Leicester stud and works full-time at Langdene stud, Dunedoo, and Will Roberts, Victoria Downs stud, Morven, Queensland, were most impressed with the type and white well-nourished wool of the maiden ewes and wethers displayed at Melrose located between Morongla dn Wattamondara, south of Cowra.

They judged 13 flocks in two days split into western and eastern sections attracting some 70 visitors each day.

Mr Roberts said the Melrose ewes had great nourishment in their wools and exhibited all the commercial characteristics, exhibited well by the ewes on display.

The 1160 Melrose bred 2017 drop ewes displayed had been retained from a 35 per cent cull at classing by Graham Wallace with assistance from Lach River co-principals, Richard and Brad Chalker.

The Merino flock has fined-up the micron to an average 18.2 while skirted adult ewe fleeces average 7.5 kilograms.

“Our maidens were first shorn in February 2018 and again in July at six months and cut fleeces averaging 4.3kg,” he said.

Their brothers sold to gross $215 a head last year.

“We shore them and then fattened them to dress out at 24.7kg when sold last February.”

Lambing percentages at 132pc, Mr Wallace puts down to fertility.

“We don’t give anything a second chance,” he said.

October Merino joining begins with Merino rams for five weeks, then after a two week break, White Suffolk rams are introduced.

Any dry ewes detected at scanning are sold off.

Ewes kept for the crossbreeding program, which are kept from classing, are joined to the White Suffolks.

Twinners are treated like gold, according to Mr Wallace.

“We continue drifting into small mobs for lambing in March, then lambs are moved onto grazing cereal crops by the end of May.

“We sow grazing wheat and oats and some canola as early as we can to enable grazing up to the end of September in good years.”

Farming

Mr Wallace said he aimed to crop between 570ha to 730ha each year and 80pc were grazing crops.

“We don’t worry about frosts and sow as early as we can. The main wheat variety is morumbi as it’s beardless and makes good hay. Harvest last year yielded 2t/ha, but we got a bit of green feed out of it.

“We aim to turn crossbred lambs off at five-to-six months for the local trade market while Merino wethers are marketed by 11 months.”

Competition

The Melrose flock also won the “western section”, fine wool, short wool and flock over 500 ewes.

Runner-up was the Johnston family, Milburn Creek, Woodstock, winner of the “eastern section” and medium wool flock with Milburn/Centreplus blood.

Long wool flock award went to the Webster family, Catalina, Morongla, with ewes of Grassy Creek blood.

Winner of the flock under 500 ewes was the Rutledge family’s Narong Partnership, Watervale, Woodstock, based on Lachlan Merino blood.

Encouragement award was presented to Luke Cosgrove, Glenrock, Greenthorpe, based on Thalaba/Lach River blood.